Celebrating two faiths in your wedding? Chris + Naina show you how.
edding Photography South Lodge
Chris + Naina
South Lodge, Horsham +
Surrey National Golf Club
31.10.2015
Wedding planning is notoriously a stressful time, but what happens when you are planning a wedding where you have two religions to honour?
Ultimately this decision lies with you and your partner, but recognise that honouring a family tradition is often what it comes down to. Keeping your families happy!
Depending on the religion and the officiant, you could combine faiths into one ceremony by having a minister of each religion perform the marriage rites.
Communication with your guests would be a great way to ensure your interfaith wedding goes off without a hitch. Providing an itinerary, specific dress codes and some do’s and don’ts ahead of the event would be an excellent way to prepare everyone for your wedding.
I personally always like to check the colour scheme ahead of time, to ensure I’m not matching or clashing with the bridesmaids!
To celebrate both families heritage, Chris + Naina took the opportunity to fully enjoy both faiths at separate events. With a traditional Western civil service wedding at South Lodge Horsham, West Sussex. And a Bollywood themed wedding reception the following week at Surrey National in Caterham, Surrey
THE BOLLYWOOD PARTY AT SURREY NATIONAL GOLF CLUB CATERHAM
The following Saturday I photographed the Bollywood wedding party for an additional 300 guests. They served an amazing curry buffet and Naina’s dad hired an amazing group of dancers to perform a traditional Indian dance as a surprise.
Naina wore a stunning red traditional Indian wedding saree complete with beautiful henna hand designs. In Indian culture white symbolises mourning and is inappropriate to wear for a wedding. Many brides opt for red and other bright colours to symbolise happiness and joy.
Chris, the groom, wore a traditional gold Indian Sherwani with a red dupatti that matched Naina’s wedding saree.
The majority of the guests joined in wearing traditional Indian wedding attire and the effort really shone through.
Naina was kind enough to loan me a stunning mint green floral saree, I felt so girly and feminine wearing it. I didn’t want to take it off.
So if you’re planning an interfaith wedding ceremony, research your options with your officiant and wedding venue and find what works best for you as a couple.
Respect is the foundation of interfaith, intercultural marriages. Love is the bridge.